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Post by jampa on Mar 17, 2024 14:03:34 GMT -6
I guess I'm asking if saturation from clipping solely at the transients might be more amenable to downstream compression than is saturation throughout the track including at the low level portions. Compressor isn't working as hard on errant peaks - I typically do this for say drums (particularly overheads). Can be used elsewhere of course |
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ericn
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Balance Engineer
Posts: 16,098 
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Post by ericn on Mar 17, 2024 14:22:12 GMT -6
One of things to remember is compression isn’t just bring down peaks it also brings up lower level signals, including distortion / saturation, so by reversing the order you get a different tone. Cool thank you for the perspective, that clarified things. It's prompted a few other thoughts and a follow-up question... If I were clipping to remove the tips of some pokey transients on a track then I'd imagine that the saturation only manifests around the transient when the clipping occurs. Low level signals aren't saturated in this example. In this case the elevation of the low level signals by the compressor isn't generally a problem since those low level signals aren't saturated? So is the issue of saturation before compression more of a concern when the saturation is prevalent throughout the track rather than being restricted to just the transients (for example by clipping)? I guess I'm asking if saturation from clipping solely at the transients might be more amenable to downstream compression than is saturation throughout the track including at the low level portions. It’s more about not boosting the lower levels of distortion/ saturation. And giving a slight bit more control over what peaks are being distorted/ saturated. This is one of those just try it and see the differences. Another cool trick is to put a limiter before the distortion/ saturation and a compressor after. |
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Post by poppaflavor on Mar 18, 2024 21:18:41 GMT -6
Cool thank you for the perspective, that clarified things. It's prompted a few other thoughts and a follow-up question... If I were clipping to remove the tips of some pokey transients on a track then I'd imagine that the saturation only manifests around the transient when the clipping occurs. Low level signals aren't saturated in this example. In this case the elevation of the low level signals by the compressor isn't generally a problem since those low level signals aren't saturated? So is the issue of saturation before compression more of a concern when the saturation is prevalent throughout the track rather than being restricted to just the transients (for example by clipping)? I guess I'm asking if saturation from clipping solely at the transients might be more amenable to downstream compression than is saturation throughout the track including at the low level portions. It’s more about not boosting the lower levels of distortion/ saturation. And giving a slight bit more control over what peaks are being distorted/ saturated. This is one of those just try it and see the differences. Another cool trick is to put a limiter before the distortion/ saturation and a compressor after. Ah yes, gotcha. Thanks! And like you say it's really something I'll just need to experiment with. Ill try that limiter -> saturate -> compressor chain. It's the opposite order of what I would typically chain and I'm having trouble imagining what it will do so I'll just dive in and try it :-) I think I'll try the Rane DC24 Limiter before the Singular Tubedrve and then into the Drawmer 1973 MB Comp and see how it goes. Should be a blast! jampa Yes, thank you! That is exactly what I was thinking. Clip to take the edge off transients so the compressor doesn't work as hard in them and focus on smoother compression. |
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